Emma

chapter four - lights

Lloyd liked dancing. He wasn't very good at it, he wasn't even that coordinated in general, but he liked dancing.

     In a club, surrounded by all types of people, all of them someone and no one at the same time. He felt masqueraded by the setting. Hidden. Free. He moved to the rhythm of a remix of some popular song and caught glimpses of his immediate area in the flashing lights. Every now and then he would find someone's eyes as if by fate. Lloyd was convinced that there was an unnatural pull between souls, linked by the eyes. But then he also remembered that people called him a hipster and then he dialled his inner dialogue down a bit.

     He was dancing next to this woman with bleached hair. Strands of white stuck to her nape, gleaming in sweat. But her brown eyes specifically, found his every time he looked her way. It was as if they were in a choreographed agreement, but what made it so memorable was that he knew he'd never see her again. The world was strange that way, he thought. That you could be so close and intimate, and then never see one another again. Platonic or otherwise, people tattoo memories on your mind.

     The rest of them were strung about the crowd of people in the nightclub. He lost Todd about five minutes after stepping on the dance floor and he occasionally saw Mei and Hunter near the middle of the craze.

     Emma was with Adam.

     They danced together, moving close to each other, completely in sync. Emma was smiling, then biting her lip and Adam's eyes were glued to her. It was like seeing photos across the dance floor, taking a second to visualise, as the flashes of light streaming in were replaced by split seconds of darkness.

     A picture book being flipped. 

     Emma's hand was in his brown-blonde hair. They were close. They turned with the beat. He moved closer. Their movements stalled. Everything around them seemed impossibly fast while they stood still. His hand was on her neck. A thumb traced her lips - it reminded Lloyd so much of earlier that day when Emma did the same thing as she stared out the window in the café.

     They kissed.

     Lloyd got lost in the dancing. He didn't think at all, he only moved. Right up until the group found themselves together somehow.

     Lloyd and Todd arrived at the bar to find Hunter and Adam talking. Emma and Mei turned up in a matter of seconds, they had been in the bathroom. Mei was the one who voiced their collective state of mind.

     "I am dead ass tired."

     "Preach."

     Hunter apologised for him having to leave, saying that his friend had called him with an emergency. Adam was leaving with him.

     "It was a pleasure meeting you," said Emma to both of them, but looking at Adam.

     "All ours," said Adam with a wink. And then he proceeded to ask for Emma's number. Then they were gone. Lloyd saw Todd was looking at Emma, who was staring after Adam.

     "Let's get some coffee," said Mei over the beating music.

     Mei had a knack for putting people at ease, despite the obvious tension. Of which there was quite a lot.

     The cooling air fell down the high-rising buildings. There was a carnival of coloured lights around them. Red and yellow lights of coming and going cars on the street next to them. Neon, fluorescent and led were painted along their concrete route. It made the sidewalk glow.

     They had traded the pulsing crowd of the nightclub for the excited rush of people out in the city. Lloyd breathed in the cold. Todd walked next to him, matching his steps and the girls walked in front of them. Emma was staring straight ahead, but Lloyd knew she was smiling, he could see a dimple etched on her cheek from behind. He still didn't understand why this woman was so captivating. She seemed larger than life, and so natural altogether.

     They entered a late night coffee shop; a coffee bar if you will.

     "It feels weird being in another coffee shop," said Lloyd.

     "If it makes you feel any better, I've only drunk Vivace coffee during my stay here," said Emma.

     "Thank you for your caffeine loyalty," said Lloyd a bit more at ease.

     The group made themselves comfortable at a table and savoured their coffee in a calm silence. Somehow, not awkward.

     "I kissed Adam," said Emma cautiously. She waited for a second at the sight of different reactions: Todd was silent, Mei was smiling mischievously and Lloyd held her gaze with a placid face. "And I'm pretty sure that I'm never going to see him again."

     Mei gripped her arm on the table with a smile. Lloyd knew the words that were on her lips. "That's the charm of it," she said.

     Emma looked at her friend.

     "Tonight has been perfect so far."

     "It's still young, though,"